Albian University
by Ditto Redeaux
Summary: Albian University, school of the Once and Future Prat. Modern AU, newly updated, First story.
1. Son of Uther

The sports training field was a grassy stretch of ground just behind the main walls of the school, and, as it was the training field, it was typical to see some species of college jock donning the red of Camelot in the vicinity. Despite the fact that it was rather overcast, was only the first day back on campus for a new term, and that most students were catching up with each other, finding their dorm rooms, or generally busy, the morning was no exception. There were several young men there along with some onlookers and a boy who very obviously did not belong anywhere near a sports field. One of the men stood out from the rest. Perhaps it was his fair hair, striking blue eyes, cocky grins, and a strut to rival a rooster's, that he was the captain of the football _and_ the rugby teams, or perhaps it was that he was Arthur Pendragon, the only son of Uther Pendragon Duke of Winchester, and thus, a possible heir to the throne of England, and everyone grew up seeing him on the telly or on tabloid covers.

Or perhaps, just maybe, what held him apart was the same air that let children know instinctively who to most avoid in a group of bullies on a pllaygound.  
Arthur certainly was the ringleader of the group of jocks that were tormenting poor Morris, a freshman who, had it not been for work study, never would have set foot near the fields. "Where's the goal?" Arthur called out jeeringly as the two behind him laughed mirthfully.

"There?" The boy asked tentatively, gesturing to the goal.

"There?" Arthur echoed, nodding towards the goal, "It's into the sun."

This statement actually caused Morris to look up to the sky, "But" He began in confused protest, "It's not that bright."

Arthur's response was immediate and brought more raucous laughter from the men who were still recovering from their first round. "A bit like you then?"

Now, it was undeniably true, Morris was not the sharpest sword attending Camelot at least when it came to athletics, he was clumsy and his reactions were lacking any sort of finesse, the exact opposite of Arthur. It was also undeniably true that Arthur Pendragon was little more than a boy, and boys, no matter what the era or status have the perchance to be cruel to those below them especially for the sake of their peers. Not only was Arthur Pendragon little more than a boy, he was his father's son. While not excusing his next action, this dual life certainly helps to explain his actions following Morris' mumbled "I'll just put it on the other end, okay?" As soon as Morris began towards the goal and turned his back on them, one of the others called out to Arthur, "Teach him a lesson. Go on wart." The tall, darker man to his left egged. It called interest from others who had been previously content to ignore them.

It was all the encouragement Arthur needed to remove his foot from where it rested on the black and white ball. With a smirk, and a "This'll teach him" He sent the ball hurtling towards the center of the net, just to the side of Morris' head. When it hit home Morris looked over the edge with a startled "Hey! Wait a minute!" To which Arthur only responded "Don't stop! Go on, move."

He continued to goad the boy into moving and eventually running as it became a free for all with Morris as the net others getting involved as well. The boy fell with a cry and muted thud when one struck him in the back of his knees at which point Arthur reluctantly put an end to his fun, and when he did so did the others. It didn't stop the teasing though as the boy scrambled backwards sprawling in an awkward array of limbs he hadn't quite grown into..

I mentioned before that Arthur would have a chance to ascend the throne, and while this fact did not absolve him of his actions in any sense, it was certainly not easy to be in that position despite how he made it look. There were days that Arthur would have gladly traded places with the sniveling Morris if only so people did not have expectations of him. The only expectation of Morris was that he would fumble things and make a complete and utter buffoon of himself. Arthur was expected to be a prince, to stand behind his father in every way, to keep appearances, to do countless things. No, Morris had no expectations from others, and Arthur envied him for that liberty. In that exact moment though, no one expected Arthur to be anything either. On the field, he could just be another jock. With a final sneer the blonde turned away.

"What… what about…" The sentence trailed off before a hesitant "Sir? Was tacked on as the boy got clumsily to his feet.

Honestly, it was the _sir_ that made a muscle in Arthur's jaw twitch spasmodically and faltered his step, drawing him to a stiff stop. The way he said it as a question instead of a statement was honestly worse than him not saying it at all. When he turned back to face the other, his face was a calm mask aside from his eyes. "I'm sorry," He didn't sound sorry though, "What was that?"

"The… the net?" His stutter was becoming more pronounced, garnering a raised eyebrow and a noncommittal hmming noise from Arthur.

He tucked his ball back under his arm as he regarded Morris with a tilt of his head, "Yeah… what about that net? See, personally I thought you were doing a great job." He appeared to think about it, a finger tapping idly at his lips, he hmmed some more before making an expression that would have been wonderfully accompanied with a flashing light-bulb, "I've got it!" He exclaimed, "You could be our goalie!"

Morris looked more startled than before, but it slowly morphed into hope. "Really?"

Arthur smiled, one of his photoshoot ready smiles that was reserved for particularly annoying reporters and meetings with nobels, "Absolutely, you're a ball magnet, no one could get a ball past you. It's a natural gift."

"Really? " came the squeaky reply.

"Yeah!" Arthur replied with a mocking amount of enthusiasm, he turned to those behind him, "Right guys? Morris can be our new goalie!" He laughed, a rich sound that was echoed as his teammates caught on. He turned back to the grinning Morris, his face suddenly serious and void of its previous smile. "No, not really." The other's face fell immediately as Arthur smiled again and slapped him on the shoulder, "Thanks for the laugh though, didn't know you could be so funny." Erupted again as they walked away, leaving a dejected Morris to kick at a clump of grass. It wasn't like he would want to spend hours a day sweaty and chasing after a stupid ball anyways.

Morris decided that it was a safer idea to return to the equipment room to clean something.


	2. Meet The Merlyn

_Any mistakes I may make with regards to schooling or English slang are entirely accidental and born of my own abhorrent ignorance regarding these subjects apart from what Wikipedia and various internet sources tell me. On another note, I would like to thank my three readers who inspired me to write another chapter, with extra thanks to ma chaton who helped me choose Albian's school colors along with listening to my endless nattering on and on about it._

_D.R._

Merlin may have dreamed about going to a school such as Albian, but he knew better than to hope for such a thing. Albian was a school for the elite, primarily for those lucky bastards who could buy their way to a better life. Sure, he had filled out the application and all, but he wasn't elite. That following term he would either go to a local F.E. College, or would join Will who finished his educational journey after their fifth year at the local drug and grocery store. Will told him once that that was how the balance of nature was kept. If they just let everyone in, then who would be left to actually work for anything? It boiled down to the fact that some _are born great_, _some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them, but at the end of the day_ someone has to scrub out the toilets because if everyone is great, important, and all that, then who would be left to be average? "Some of us just have to settle for being average." Will said that afternoon while flipping through a battered issue of Club International he kept under his mattress. Later that afternoon he received his acceptance letter and a memo stating he had been awarded a merit scholarship that would cover the majority of his tuition and board. Will had slugged his shoulder and called him an insufferable twat, and his mother, Hunith, had been too busy being overjoyed to reprimand her son's friend for his vulgarity. Merlin caught her later though frowning over a pile of bills despite her promise that they had enough. She amended it to the promise that they would find a way.

He'd felt guilty for the added creases to her brow, but now… It was hard to tame his smile as he passed Albian's gates as a student for the first time. The blue, silver, and white banner that welcomed all students, new and returning, felt like it specifically said 'Welcome, Merlin Ambrosius, to Albian University!' The sun was shining on him despite the clouds, and nothing could go wrong. He had a roommate named Gwaine Lotsson, and his mother had secured his work study with a man named Gaius Iachawr who was apparently an old friend of hers though she was no more specific on the subject and Merlin was too busy packing to bother asking more on it.

No, nothing could go wrong, at least it didn't until he ran into a young dark haired man carrying a ball, cleats, an unfamiliar uniform of gold blue and red, and various other paraphernalia like a map of the school which he was trying to read while navigating the crowded walkway. The ball went bouncing away as both young men thudded to the ground. They both managed to stand and were trying to gather various objects before their heads collided rather painfully, "_Feck!_" The other exclaimed as he scrambled back to his feet before pulling Merlin up again.

"Sorry!" Merlin apologized handing back the now crumpled map and the cleats he had managed to grab.

The darker shook his head, curls bouncing, "Nah, I wasn't looking, a bit lost actually." He stuck out a hand, "Lancelot Bator, I'm a transfer student, haven't quite figured out my way around, but I heard the prince is having try-outs and-" He shrugged helplessly with a laugh.

Merlin couldn't help but chuckle along with him, this Lancelot had one of those personalities that was naturally drawing in its friendliness, like a flame to a moth. "Merlin Ambrosius." He responded relinquishing his hold on his messenger bag to shake the man's hand. "I think the pitch is that way though." He pointed back to the grassy expanse from the direction Lancelot had come.

Lancelot looked back before nodding "Yeah, could be, well thanks Merlin, see you around."

"See you." Merlin responded with a half wave as his new acquaintance turned heel and left. Yeah, Albian was certainly going to be very different from Ealdor with its princes and soccer players.


	3. Not a Nurse

_The next installment. Don't own, never will.R&R lovelies, R&R_

_D.R._

Merlin had finally reached the nurses office after several misdirections from students, a small placard on the door had read Gaius Iachwar but a yellow post-it was scribbled on with "at pitch, be back later. For emergency call 999." His dormitory had been equally empty. There were bags from the other student alongside his own, but no sign that anyone had been there. It seemed like everyone was at the pitch, apparently the sport was an even bigger deal than he had been lead to believe. Merlin wasn't all that into sports, he hoped his roommate wasn't, though he had the feeling he wouldn't have minded Lancelot that much, and Lance certainly was that into sports.

An older gentleman, Merlin could only assume it was Gaius, was supporting a boy with a badly bloodied nose and a rather dramatic limp down the hall.

Gaius, and indeed it was him, noticed the young man after Merlin had followed them into the medical office. "Who are you, what do you want?" after a moment of Merlin fumbling for words, the older gentleman snapped cantankerously "I'm rather busy here", as he pulled out a litany of salves and ointments.

"I'm Merlin!" He finally shot out, "I'm supposed to be working for you?"

This brought Gaius up short in his stirring of some strange concoction that smelled a bit like cat piss, mint, and old garbage. "Merlin, but you aren't supposed to be here until Sunday." He said almost scoldingly.

Merlin shrugged a bit helplessly, "It is Sunday." The young man supplied taking a compress saturated in the stuff and handing it to the other boy who was about his age.

"I wuth juth tryin' to swith the boken ded out. I guedd I wud'en doid id fads eduff do Guy had do deach be a leddon" the boy explained pressing the cloth to his badly swollen nose.

"Guy?" Merlin couldn't decide if he wanted to give Guy a piece of his mind or possibly avoid him for the entire term.

"Kai." Gaius supplied from where he had been counting out painkillers for the boy, "He's the prince's foster brother. Big fellow, always has been a bit of a bruiser. Tilt your head back Morris." Gaius deftly switched the compress for a new one this one straight ice wrapped in clean linen before dismissing him with instructions to watch out for Kai and to take one pill every four to six hours as needed.

"So this is what being the school nurse is like?" Merlin asked conversationally as he handed things back for Gaius to put away.

The old man stiffened immediately, "I'll have you know Merlin, I am not a nurse,_ I _am a physician."


	4. A cautionary note

_So this has all been put on a rather jarring hold. A certain review made me really stop and think about where I am going with this story. I can honestly say I didn't know what the pairings would be before I started publishing this, but I do know now. Thsee relationships will go deeper than mere friendship, and in some aspects shallower. I don't think I even would have thought to put a warning because that seems a bit unnatural, I don't walk into a room and go hey guys, warning, some of you might find my sexuality uncomfortable or intolerable. That would be strange, but it is also mgreats while thinking about it, yes, this will include not only friendship and romance but acts and feelings that are not of a straight or so called by some "natural" persuasion as well as other questionable content. If this is is going to create discomfort I advise you to stop reading, unfavorite, and unfollow all of my work. I won't take offense if you do, I can't ask you to change that nor can you change me. That's okay though, there are tons of stories, and if you can't find one to suit your fancy, then open up a document and write it. I'm going to give everyone a chance to read and process this before I post anything new._

_thank you for your time and patience._

_D.R._


End file.
